Music and film are my favorite artistic storytelling forms, so naturally I have pretty strong feelings about music videos. A good music video can lend more context to a song, or allow musicians the freedom to express themselves in new ways. And they're just fun. Here are some of my favorites.
The two music videos off of Pedro the Lion's album Pheonix both make my favorites list on their own, but they are even better as a pair. They're both shot on 16mm film, and I appreciate the haunting, introspective beauty of both the songs and the video more each time I watch them. The film seems to have been intentionally exposed after shooting, creating vivid colors that flicker and wash over the video. Overall, they serve as impressively crafted visual accompaniments to both the songs and the album as a whole.
Okay so thoughts on the upcoming Pedro album ---
Santa Cruz is picking up where Havasu left off, covering
his later teenage years up until the release of his first album
in his early 20s.
I can't help but feel especially connected
to the subject matter, being that I've just started to take
songwriting more seriously, and I'll turn 21 two months from today.
Much of what David Bazan wrote when he was my age really speaks
to me. Maybe I'm the target audience, or maybe he was also just a 20
year old, writing about feelings a lot of 20 year olds share, but
as I'm sure any fan of his work would agree, there's something
really special about those early albums.
As far as the singles from Santa Cruz that have been released so far,
I'm really loving them! Spend Time is almost danceable, and
I'm excited to hear it when I see them live next month.
I love the songwriting on Modesto, and the arps after the key change are
just super. Honestly the mixing on all the singles are awesome. Real
punchy vocals and lots of layering with the guitars.
David Bazan has an impressive ability to distill memories into
his music, preserving all the emotion and personal detail within
them, while introducing a new layer of maturity from years of reflection.
As someone who struggles to describe my past, PTL's music soothes
part of me that worries I'll never find the right words. And the fact that
the new record aims to reflect on an age I am currently experiencing
reminds me that the present is just as important as the past I've been
trying to explain. Anyways, all that is to say I'm excited to hear
what David Bazan has to share.